Tape dispenser



De 6, 1969 H. H. MATTHEIS TAPE DISPENSER Filed March 27, 1968 INVENTOR. HARLEY H. MATTHE/S United States Patent U.S. Cl. 225-65 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The tape dispenser has first and second walls interconnected by a transverse wall thereby forming a channel. The second wall is hingedly connected to the transverse Wall and is movable about a hinge line connecting the two walls. The first wall has a shaft extending therefrom for positioning a rotatable tape cutter thereon while the second wall has an aperture for receiving and retaining the free end of the shaft. The second wall is formed with a locking pin extending therefrom and having a free end which is received and an aperture formed in the first wall when the first and second walls are placed in parallel relationship to one another. A flexible, arcuate member extends downwardly along the first wall to provide retaining means for a roll of tape, or the like, when the same is placed in the dispenser. Guides are provided for guiding the tape out of the dispenser while said rotary cutter is used to cut the tape at a desired location.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to a device for dispensing articles such as pressure-sensitive tape, or the like and, more particularly, to a device for dispensing tape, or the like, the device being formed integrally as a single piece.

The prior art penser which is formed from plastic or other moldable r material eliminating substantially all of the after-forming assembling required heretofore.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally, the dispenser of the present invention has first and second side walls interconnected by a transverse wall to form a tape-receiving channel therebetween. The second wall is hingedly connected to the transverse wall. The second wall can thus be moved about the hinge line and its position with respect to the first wall can be changed as desired. A shaft, or a mounting pin, is formed in the first wall extending therefrom and having a free end receivable in an aperture formed in the second wall. A separately formed cutter is mounted on that shaft. The second wall has a locking pin extending therefrom and having a free end receivable in an aperture formed in the first wall when the second wall and the first wall are positioned in a parallel relationship. The engagement of the ice locking pin with the aperture in the first wall locks the first wall to the second wall. A flexible, arcuate member is formed along the first wall and extends in an adjacent relationship to the first wall so that the free end of the member overlies a portion of the transverse wall. The flexible member releasably retains a roll of tape, or the like, within the dispenser.

DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the dispenser of the present invention showing tape being applied to a surface;

FIGURE 2 is a view of the dispenser taken from the left-hand side of FIGURE 1 with the tape removed;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the dispenser taken generally along the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a detailed view illustrating the relationship between the walls of the dispenser;

FIGURE 5 is a schematic illustration of the relationship between side walls, the locking pin and the transverse wall;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged schematic view of the relationship between the locking pin in the aperture in the stationary side wall; and

FIGURE 7 is a partly exploded perspective view of the dispenser of the present invention.

SPECIFICATION While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawing and will herein be described in detail, an embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown a device integrally formed from moldable plastic, or other suitable material, for dispensing pressure-sensitive tape, or the like, the device being generally designated 10 and referred to as a dispenser. An illustrated in FIGURE 1, the dispenser 10 contains a roll of tape T with the free end of the tape being applied against a surface S.

The dispenser has a pair of opposed side walls, namely, a first, or stationary, side wall 12 and a second, or moveable, side wall 14. The side walls are interconnected by a transverse wall 16 which is rigidly joined to the stationary side wall along the line 18 and hingedly connected to the moveable side wall 14 along a hinge line 20. The side walls 12 and 14, together with the transverse wall 16, form a tape receiving and guiding channel 17, having a substantial U configuration.

Extending from the side wall 12 there is a shaft, or a mounting pin, 22 for receiving a separately formed cutter 24 thereon.

Referring now to the cutter, best seen in FIGURE 7, it will be observed that a pair of mounting ears 26, having apertures 28, are formed at one end of the cutter. The shaft 22 is received in apertures 28 for pivotally mounting the cutter 24 on the shaft. The opposite end of the cutter is formed with a plurality of serrations 30 to provide a cutting edge for the tape T when the same is being dispensed out of the dispenser across the cutter 24.

As best seen in FIGURE 4, the moveable side wall 14 is formed with an aperture 32 for receiving the free end 23 of the shaft 22 therein when the side wall 14 is moved into parallel locking relationship with the side wall 12.

Still referring to FIGURE 4, the moveable side wall 14 is seen formed with a transverse member, or a locking pin 34, which extends therefrom a distance suficient for the free end 35 thereof to enter an aperture 36 formed in the stationary side wall 12 thereby locking the wall 14 to the side wall 12.

Heretofore, a dispenser of the type of the one illustrated herein, could not be formed as a single unit since the necessary U channel 17, formed by the side walls 12 and 14 and the transverse wall 16, could not be molded in a single molding operation. The provision of hinged construction along the line 20 permits integral formation of the entire dispenser with the exception of a separate cutter 24, heretofore described. The dispenser of the present invention is thus formed in a single mold Without necessitating subsequent assembly of a plurality of parts thereof into a unit. During the formation of the dispenser, the moveable side wall 14 is positioned fiat, with the pin 34 in parallel relationship with the side wall 12, as shown in FIGURE 4, the side wall 14 being, at that time, in a normal relationship to the opposite side wall 12.

Once the dispenser is formed, it becomes necessary to lock the side walls 12 and 14 together in order to provide the necessary rigidity to the channel 17 formed therebetween. The provision of the locking pin 34 on the side wall 14 serves that purpose. When the side wall 14 is moved upwardly along the hinge line 20 for placement into parallel relationship with the side wall 12, the free end 35 of the pin 34 traverses a considerable are before reaching the opposite wall 12. Because of this arc, a leverage is attained which must be overcome in order to snap the free end 35 of the pin 34 into the aperture 36. Thus, having traversed a substantially long are, the 'end 35 is securely held in the aperture 36 by being forceably snapped therein.

As seen in FIGURE 6, a force F, exerted by the end 35 of the pin 34, acts on the interior surface of the aperture 36. Before the pin 34 can be removed from engagement with the aperture 36, a force must be exerted to overcome the action of the force F. This is best accomplished by applying a twisting motion to the side wall 12, causing the same to bend slightly outwardly and then pulling the pin 34 upwardly and out of the engagement with the aperture 36. The above-described locking engagement, requiring a force to release the pin 34 from the aperture 36, ensures that the pin will not accidentally slip out of the aperture destroying the rigidity of the channel 17 While in the exemplary embodiment illustrated, a single locking pin 34 is shown, any number of such pins can be provided without departing from the scope of the present invention. To increase the rigidity of the locking pin 34, the pin can be formed with a reinforcing rib 38, as best seen in FIGURE 4.

As a further advantage, the hinged relationship between the moveable side wall 14 and the transverse wall 16 provides an easy way to replace the cutter 24, should the same become worn. This can be easily accomplished by unlocking the side walls 12 and 14, moving the side Wall 14 downwardly about the hinge line 20 to release the free end 23 of the shaft 22 from the aperture 32. The old cutter 24 is then slid off the shaft 22 and a new cutter is replaced thereon.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, it can be seen that the upper portion of the stationary side wall 12 comprises a hand-grip 40' terminating in a cylindrical sleeve or terminal member 42. A portion of the grip 40 and the entire member 42 are received on the inside of the core C of the tape T, as best seen in FIGURE 1.

A flexible, elongated element 44 extends from the sleeve 42 downwardly along the side wall 12 and has its free end overlying a portion of the transverse wall 16 comprising tape holding means. As shown in FIGURE 1, the element 44 depresses the core C and retains the roll of tape T within the dispenser 10.

In order to properly guide the tape T out of the dispenser and over the cutter 24, guiding means are formed on the side Walls 12 and 14 in the form of guide shoulders 46. Ribs 50, or the like, may be formed on the handgrip 40 for strengthening the structure and enhancing its appearance.

What is claimed is:

1. An integrally formed device for dispensing pressure sensitive tape or the like, comprising:

(a) opposed first and second side walls interconnected by a transverse wall and forming therewith a tape receiving channel;

(b) the first side wall having a mounting pin attached thereto for pivotally mounting a cutter thereon, and said pin having one free end;

(c) at least one aperture formed in said first side wall;

((1) said second wall being hinged to said transverse wall along a hinge line for movement thereabout;

(e) an aperture in said second wall for receiving the free end of said mounting pin and for releasably retaining the same therein;

(f) at least one locking pin extending from said second side wall and having a free end receivable in the aperture formed in said first side wall when said first and second side walls are positioned in parallel to one another;

(g) said locking pin limiting the forward movement of said second wall about said hinge line;

(h) a guide shoulder formed at the end of each of said first and second walls for guiding the tape being dispensed;

(i) a flexible, elongated element extending along said first wall and overlying a portion of said transverse wall and being adapted to releasably retain a roll of tape in the dispenser.

2. An integrally formed device for dispensing pressure sensitive tape or the like, comprising:

(a) a stationary side wall and a moveable side wall interconnected by a transverse wall and forming therewith a channel;

(b) the moveable side wall being hinged to the transverse wall for movement in and out of a parallel relationship with the stationary side wall;

(c) a transverse member integrally formed with the moveable side wall and having a free end receivable in an aperture formed in the stationary side wall for releasably securing said side walls to one another when said moveable sidewall is placed in parallel relationship with said stationary wall;

(d) a cutter element pivotably mounted between said side walls;

(e) tape holding means formed on the stationary side Wall for releasably retaining a roll of tape in the dispenser.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein said tape holding means comprises a terminal member formed at one end of said stationary side wall and having a flexible element extending therefrom along said stationary side wall, said element being adapted to engage the core of said roll of tape.

4. An integrally formed device for dispensing pressure sensitive tape or the like, comprising:

(a) a pair of opposed side walls interconnected by a transverse wall and forming therewith a tape receiving channel;

(b) one of said side walls being hinged to the transverse wall for movement in and out of a parallel relationship with the opposite side wall;

(c) a cutter mounting pin secured between said said walls;

(d) a locking pin integrally formed with one of said side walls and having a free end receivable in an aperture formed in the opposite side wall;

(e) tape holding means formed on one of said side walls for releasably retaining a roll of tape in the dispenser;

(f) tape guiding means extending between said side Walls for guiding the tape being dispensed.

5. A device as defined in claim 4, wherein the locking pin is integrally formed with said side wall hinged to the transverse wall.

6. A device as defined in claim 4, wherein the tape holding means comprises a flexible, elongated element extending from one end of one of said side walls and being adapted to engage the core of said roll of tape.

7. A device as defined in claim 4, wherein said tape guiding means comprises a shoulder formed at the end of each of said side walls paralleling said cutter mounting pin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 6/1954 Australia.

FRANK T. YOST, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

